New Beginings
by Charly520
Summary: Kyra Quentin was a normal teen before Magneto wrecked her life. Now she's left to pick up the pieces at Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Children. Kyra deals with forgiving Magneto, her new powers, and the fact that she isn't accepted by what family she has left. But Kyra has more family then she thinks - and they aren't as friendly as her new friends at the mansion.
1. Aftermath

Today was a dismal day, at best. After the discovery of mutants 10 years ago, tensions had been high. The search for Magneto had continued, but to no avail until about a week ago when his trail of bodies had been found in Poland. Today me, my older brother Sam, and my parents sat anxiously in front of the television. The news reporter was going on about how every nuclear weapon in the world was firing straight up into the air. The missiles disappeared into the atmosphere, and were gone. My mom shook her head, "They made such a fuss about that! I feel sorry for the poor person who pulled that prank." We all went onto our regular, everyday business.

My dad had short blonde hair, and he was tall and muscular. My mom was short and stout, with brown hair. Sam, the biological wonder, was tall and skinny, and had bright red hair. On the other hand, I was short and had dirty blonde hair. Our apartment was medium sized. We had what I would call a balcony but most others would call a larger than usual windowsill. Being on the fifth floor of the apartment building gave me a great view of the valley. I sat on the balcony and read for the next few hours, serenaded (although I use that term lightly) by Sam's drumming. When he first got his drum set, he told me, "Kyra, someday, when I'm a famous rockstar, you'll donate this drumset to a museum for me?" I'd laughed at him but agreed. When I finished my book, Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro, I wandered back inside to find my family once again huddled in front of the TV. My dad looked up at me. "The mutants are attacking." He grimly informed me. Sam explained for me. "Auschwitz has been completely torn apart, and Magneto has been spotted above Cairo." One look at the TV and I had to wonder how you could not spot him. He floated above city markets, raised his hands, and the ground started to burst. At first it was only in the TV, but then I felt the ground shake. My parents felt it too. "We need to get to lower ground!" mom cried. She grabbed my hand and we ran out the door, with Sam and dad right behind us. The tremors shook the building and I saw the ceiling crack. The concrete in the walls split like glass. One piece of ceiling fell onto the electrical box, leaving it sparking and exposed. It fell off the wall, directly onto my leg and knocking me onto my elbows. I gritted my teeth as electricity surged through my body. It felt like I was on fire. Oh wait, I was. I pushed the box of my leg and patted out the fire on my pant le. I looked up at my family. "Impossible! You should be electrocuted!" Sam breathed. "Kyra, are you alright?" dad asked. I shakily stood, and replied, "I think I was electrocuted, but I'm fine." the building shook violently, and my mom said, "We need to keep moving. Will you be okay, Kyra?" I nodded and my dad led our small family into the stairwell. The next few moments seemed unreal. The ceiling crumpled. Sam pushed me down the stairs, and I reached out as the ruble came down on my family. I felt power surge in my bones, and lightning shot from my fingers and shot toward one of the rocks. It exploded into dust. I stood there, shocked. Was this a side effect from being electrocuted? A thought tugged at the back of my head. Was it possible I was a mutant? I had mixed feelings about this. Half of me was thinking, _Mutant? Like Magneto?_ The other was screaming, _Mutant! Like Mystique!_ I thrust my hands towards the pile of rocks that trapped my family. Lightning crackled and sparked as another rock was reduced to dust. I could save my family, I realized. Again and again I shot the ruble, until it revealed the bodies. They were undoubtedly dead, but I checked the pulses just to be sure. My chest ached, and there was a lump in my throat that wanted to choke me. I felt my hands blaze with electricity. The electricity spread up my arms and pooled in my stomach. It wasn't just my hands sparking now, my everywhere was was. I looked down at skin and saw that I was glowing blue. _My mutation is reacting to my feelings. I guess I am a mutant._ I thought numbly. I looked back down at my big brother. Something wood stuck out of his back pocket. I bent down and pulled out his drumsticks. _It's Magneto's fault._ I thought suddenly. But it was true wasn't it? Magneto caused the building to shake, with caused the ruble to fall, which killed Sam and mom and dad. It was Magneto's fault. The building shook again, shaking me out of my thoughts and making me realize I stopped glowing. I didn't want to leave my family, but I was going to die too if I didn't go. I clutched the drumsticks tight and ran down the stairs. The latest rumble shook more concrete loose, but I blasted it out of the way. The walls groaned and creaked. I burst out of the front door, right as the building collapsed. Rocks pounded my back, sure to leave bruises. I stood there for God knows how long, before I even opened my eyes. My hands were white knuckles around the sticks. Salt Lake city was leveled. People were everywhere. Some looked as confused as I felt, others were cleaning up and helping injured. What was I supposed to do? I didn't want to leave Salt Lake. I loved it here! But from the looks of it, there was no Salt Lake city left, and come to think of it I needed help with my newfound mutation. What if I spazzed out again, and hurt somebody? I started to walk, until I heard a cry. "Help! Somebody help!" I ran over to what I recognized as the leftovers of a bank. A woman stood over a pile of debris, yelling and trying to push a rock off the pile. I ran up and said, "Here let me try." Crack! Crack! Crack! After a few blinding bolts of electricity the rubble pile was no more. A little boy was cowering in a ball, half under the bank's tall metal door. I shot at it, and I could feel the door raise slightly. Could I move metal as easily as I exploded rock? I threw my hand to the side, and the door went flying. The mom leapt forward and scooped little boy. My heart ached as I remembered my own mom's dead body. I started walking, my heart plummeting at the fact that the LDS temple was only half standing. Suddenly I realized something. My powers were similar to Magneto's. I could control metal, probably through electromagnets, and through that I would probably be able to fly. Flying was the only good thing to come out of our vile connection. Eventually I came upon Pioneer park. The destruction wasn't as eminent here - there were next to no buildings. I figured this was a good a spot as any to try to fly. I felt the electricity in my hands, and they started to spark. If I could create electromagnets, then maybe I could fly by connecting to the earth's magnetic field and using it to support me, like two magnets with the same charge. I wasn't sure, of course. This theory was based off of middle school science and too much Doctor Who. I pushed my palms towards the ground and concentrated. My hands started to glow and, similar to earlier, I started to glow everywhere. The glowing would never stop being a novelty. It was sky blue, and just beneath my skin. In all my thoughts, I didn't realize my feet weren't touching the ground. It looked like I was a foot or two high. I whooped, punching the air, right before I exploded. In a flash of white light, I was thrown out of the air and across the grass. I slid up to a tree, and lay there, on my side. Grinning, I blinked out the bright spots from my vision. The trees around me were on fire. I layed on my back and spread out my arms. I had done it. True, I could have killed somebody, but I had flown. I now had to answer the question, What now? My family was dead, my town was flattened, and I was a mutant. "Maybe I should find Magneto and give him a piece of my mind." I said to myself. I figured why not? Nothing else could go wrong. There was a creak, and I looked up just in time to see a flaming tree fall on top of me. The tree snapped and branches creaked as it landed on me, trapping me under it's trunk. The tree cracked - no wait. That was me. I had broken something, probably a rib, hopefully not two. The tree was still on me, and I tried to push it off my mid section. My ribs flared up in pain in protest. I pushed anyway, harder this time. The tree slid onto my legs, and I hissed at the pain. One more push and it rolled onto the grass. I stood and tucked my arm around my side. This was going to be a long day.

Charles Xavier rolled up to the new and improved cerebro. Hank had fixed it, and touched up some of the bugs it had been suffering from before. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jean Grey said from behind him, "I can do it." the professor sighed. "I appreciate the concern, Jean, but I have more experience. History tells us that after big events like what just happened in Cairo, there is a rise in mutants. To put it lightly, we're going for a recruitment drive." Charles put on the helmet, careful not to get any wires tangled. The cool metal against his scalp was another reminder of the hair that would never grow back. The walls lit up with every mutant in the world. Jean strained to see them all in the huge room. The professor started to explain his plan. "We are looking for the ones that are confused and alone. Preferably children, obviously. We want to take care of the ones that need it the most first." Jean nodded and said okay at all the appropriate places, but she knew she wasn't going to be much help. Charles sensed that, and asked, "Jean, why don't you write down the names and places I tell you?" She grabbed a pencil and notebook from her backpack and sat on the floor, ready to write. Both telepaths could tell they were going to be busy.

I had figured out how to fly without blowing myself up, although it had hurt like a mother lover. My side screamed in pain as I flew towards Idaho. I had an aunt and uncle and some cousins who lived there. They were the closest living relatives I had, but I didn't plan to stay long. They didn't hesitate to bad mouth mutants, and I knew that staying would mean having to deal with everything that came after death. Funerals and viewings and mourning. People saying 'I'm sorry'. Going through that would mean accepting that I would never hear my dad make stupid jokes. I would never have another who-can-be-the-most-sarcastic conversation with my mom. I would never get (lovingly) beat up by Sam. It meant accepting that I actually saw their bodies and felt the lack of a pulse, and I couldn't. I did have to deliver the news to my extended family though. I arrived at the house two days later. More like face planted on the driveway, but I wasn't sure my rib could hurt anymore. I raised my hand to knock on the door when it opened. "Kyra! What are you doing here? Where are your parents?" I was bombarded with questions from my Aunt Tracy. She pulled me inside and I saw the rest of the family in the living room, around the TV. Oh boy. "Sam and mom and dad aren't here because…. They died. In the earthquakes." My extended family's faces fell. "No doubts?" My uncle whispered. "No doubts." I whispered back. The sudden silence was suffocating. Why wasn't anybody moving? I felt my right hand begin to spark, and quickly tucked behind me. My aunt wiped her eyes and wrapped me in a hug. Soon my uncle joined and my two cousins; James, who was my age; and Ally, who was around 8. James smiled, but his eyes were sad. "But now you can stay with us right? We can always do fun cousin things!" oh boy. Here comes bad news number two. I pulled away from the hug and said, "Actually I was planning on leaving. I'm fifteen, I can take care of myself." My uncle frowned. "You can't! After what happened the other day, mutants will be everywhere. We need to be careful with mutants, they are dangerous." My other hand started to go crazy as I got more angry. My aunt spoke up, "Those mutants want to start a war, honey, they _are_ dangerous." the lights started to flash. It was my fault, I'm sure. It was because I was mad. My aunt and uncle were right, mutants were dangerous! _I_ was dangerous! But trying to start a war? Only Magneto was doing that. Now my family hated what I was because of him. Another thing to add the the list. "It looks like the power is going out." My aunt said. "Kyra, why don't you at least sleep on it." I shook my head and said sadly, "Sorry Aunt Tracy, I better get going." before I left I took one more look at James, who had been unusually quiet. He was staring at my hands.

Jubilation Lee, Jean Grey, and Hank Mccoy huddled in the cockpit of the (finally) finished Blackbird. Charles had taken about three days to compile a list of names, another day to rest, and now he was back on the cerebro to track the mutants for the group. The black plane turned invisible as it hovered over Wyoming plain. It set down, still invisible, behind a gas station a few miles away from the border of Nebraska. "Let's hope we have better luck this time." Jubilee said. "This is the last one, so I certainly hope so." Hank responded. They left the plane and walked up to the gas station doors just as another girl walked out. This happened to be the girl they had come here for. Her messy hair was dirty blonde and she looked to be around 5'2. She was wearing holey jeans and a dirty college t-shirt. She clutched a pair of drumsticks in her hand. "Are you Kyra Quentin?" Jean asked. The girl froze, then stuck the drumsticks in her back pocket. _Careful,_ Jean warned the others telepathically, _she's getting ready for a fight._ But the girl didn't fight. Instead she said calmly, "And who's asking?" The three gave their names, and then Hank quickly said, "We want to help you. We can teach you to use your powers and we can give you a home." Kyra narrowed her eyes. "for what?" Jubilee spoke up now. "Nothing! Us three live at the school. We all take care of each other and go to classes. Just wait until you meet the professor!" Then Kyra thought about it. something. "That actually sounds tempting, but it doesn't explain why you knew who I was and where I would be."

Hank responded, "We've built a machine that allows telepaths to find and see mutants." Kyra wanted more of an explanation, but she let it slide. The three other mutants waited for a yes or no. Hopefully it would be a yes. Finally Kyra Quentin answered. "Yes. I want to go."


	2. What a Tourist

I haven't eaten in five days. I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm not. The weird thing is, I'm not hungry. I figured out why around the crossover to Wyoming. Whenever I had stopped to take a break, all the lights around me would go out. I assumed it was leftover damage from Magneto, but I realized I was absorbing the energy. Without even trying, I was collecting the electricity around me to sustain myself. If I did this for the rest of my life, I would never be able to use electronics again. I'm too addicted to Doctor Who to never watch it again. In other news, my rib hasn't gotten any better. I think I'm straining it with my flying constantly. Maybe I'm using all the energy I'm sucking up for things other than healing. That all leads us to today. I had stopped to rest in a air conditioned gas station. I walked out, barely noticing the three-some that was walking toward me. Until, that is, one said, "Are you Kyra Quentin?" I stopped. The girl who had spoken was tall with long red hair. I put Sam's drumsticks in the back pocket of my trashed jeans and replied, "And who's asking?" The other girls looked like she was taken straight out of the 90s. She looked Asian, and wore a slick, bright yellow trench coat. She had wild black hair. The guy had smooth hair and glasses. He, undoubtedly, was a nerd. The people told me that they have a school where I can learn to use my powers. They said that they have a machine that can find mutants, and that was how they had found me. I knew my answer as soon as they asked me, but I didn't answer immediately. I didn't want them to know I was practically homeless, an orphan, and needed help and a home. Then I said, "Yes, I want to go." They looked relieved. "Come with us." the redhead said, "I'm Jean, by the way. This is Hank and Jubilee." She started to walk behind the station, but there was nothing there. Suddenly, a black jet appeared. I gaped, " _That_ is what you guys came here in? I was expecting a school bus!" Jubilee shrugged, "There's no need for a whole bus when there's only one new kid."

"I'm the only one?" I asked. I would have thought they would have recruited more than one kid at a time. Hank spoke up. "We tried to get more, but you're the only one that is interested." Sucks for them, they're missing out on a ride in a jet. The bottom of the jet opened up, and I was led inside. Jean and Hank headed up to the cockpit, and Jubilee motioned for me to sit next to her. I let out an involuntary hiss as my side bumped both the armrest and the seat. Jubilee looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I broke my rib. I'll be fine." Jubilee certainly didn't think so. "Let me see." She demanded, "Hank might need to check it out." I lifted up my shirt to expose my side, and Jubilee whistled. The skin was purple and bruised, and it was swollen. "Ya, why don't I grab Hank." She ran up to the cockpit, and returned shortly with the man with glasses. He took one look at my side and sighed, "You're going to have to go straight to the infirmary. Why didn't you say anything?" I pulled my shirt down. "It's been almost a week, I figured I was almost healed by now." That was a lie. I knew I wasn't getting any better. Hank's eyed bulged. "A week, Kyra? You flew through two states with a broken rib?" I just shrugged apologetically. The rest of the flight was quiet, except for when I asked Jubilee, "So this school, does it just teach about our powers or does it teach, like, science and history?"

"It's just like a real school. Every subject, and all the hoards of homework." The words were somehow comforting, like I thought my life could actually be normal again. When we landed, Jean led me inside the huge Mansion. I could feel everybody staring, and it was kind of unsettling. They must not get many new kids around here. We went down in an elevator and into hallway that was made entirely of metal. She led me into a room, and motioned for me to sit on a metal table. "Wait here, and Hank will be in a minute to check you out." I snickered at the word choice, but Jean pretended not to notice. Then I was alone. Apparently, Hank was the co-pilot and the doctor. I had to admit, this guy was talented. "Let me see." He said without emotion. I showed him my rib again, and he sighed. "It's infected. You're going to need a shot, some antibiotic, and I need to wrap you up." I grimaced at the mention of a shot, but nodded. Hank got to preparing the shot, and ransacked my brain for something to say. It was to quiet. "So," I finally said, "What is your mutation?" He held up the shot, "Maybe I'll show you when there's not so much delicate equipment around." A destructive power? Sounds fun. He gave me the shot, easing the needle into my side. "Ouch!" I exclaimed, surprised that it hurt as much as it did. Then again, anything touching it at all hurt so it's not surprising at all. Hank turned around to grab a roll of ace bandage. "Sorry if this hurts, but I want to wrap it tight so it heals straight." When he said tight, he meant tight. I clenched my teeth as he wrapped the bandage around my stomach and sides. When he was done he handed me two pills and a cup of water. "For the pain." he noted, "The professed wants to see you. He'll be waiting at the top of the elevator." I slid off the table and headed for the door. My movements felt stiff, and I wrapped my arm around my side in a poor attempt to make it stop hurting. "Thanks, Hank." I told him. The professor was nothing like I imagined. He was bald, young, and in a wheelchair. "Kyra!" he called, catching my attention. I tried not to look shocked, and not to look at his legs. I failed in both aspects. "Let's head to my office, just follow me." he instructed as he started to roll away. I walked along beside him as he went over the basics. "No alcohol is permitted. You will have to attend all your classes and do your homework. In my office we can officially register you. You will live in our dorms and after I get you registered I will show you where and introduce you to your roommate. Many of the students have mentors to teach them how to use their powers. Once I evaluate yours, I can find one that will work for you. Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds without permission. I know you are religious, so you can go to church on sundays. Oh, and I'm so sorry about what happened to your parents." I barely caught all the needed information. They really needed to just type it out. Finally we stopped walking on front of a tall mahogany door. I watched as the door handle turned and the door opened all by itself. "Did you do that?" I cried, "Is that your power?" The professor smiled knowingly. "I am a telepath."

"So you can read minds too?" I asked, "That's how you knew so much about me." I realized. I followed him into the room as he answered, "Precisely, and you can call me Xavier, you don't have to keep on saying 'the professor'." When I looked confused, he answered, "You mentally scream. For a telepath, your thoughts are impossible to ignore. It's just natural for certain people." His eyes flitted to a picture on the wall - a man in black. Xavier wheeled himself behind a desk with a computer on it. On my record, he put the general stuff. My name, age, birthday and mutation. Next he made me a schedule. The basics first, he said, after asking me what type of science I prefered, and if I wanted honors or AP level math and english. "Now for the extra curricular. I'm putting training on. What do you like to do?" I shrugged. "I love to read. I can sort of write, but I'm not very good at it." Xavier stopped me there. "Creative writing and study hall it is then. Study hall takes place in the library, and when you don't have homework you can read." He finished typing out some things, then said, "Your schedule is printing out in the library. I have a map for you here." The map he handed me looked hand drawn, and then photocopied. I thanked him and then left. As I walked, I didn't look up from the map until I noticed a peculiar smell. I looked up to see that the entire hallway was covered in blue smoke. It smelled notoriously like sulfur. Suddenly, in a puff of blue smoke, a boy appeared in front of me. He had to be the coolest looking kid I've seen. He had blue skin, pointed ears and a _tail._ Lines and patterns were etched in his skin, And his hair was long with blue highlights. He was wearing a red jacket, and had a big goofy grin revealing fangs. "Mein fehler! I did not mean to surprise you!" I just stared, not quite sure what to say because in all reality I was talking to a blue teenager. "No! You're okay!" I told him, surprised as Jubilee and Jean ran up, and I was grateful for some familiar faces. "Kurt! You're frightening her!" Jean scolded. Frightening was not the word I would use. I stuck my hand out to Kurt. "I'm Kyra. Your name is Kurt?"

"Ja, Kurt Wagner."

"Well, Kurt, I was just heading to the library to pick up my schedule. Mabe also find a nice book and corner or windowsill." Kurt looked confused. "Why do you need a corner?" I shrugged, not sure how to explain my reading habits to him. When I read, I liked to find small corners and scrunch myself in them. If there were none of those, then a nice window sill would also do the trick. "That's just where I like to read." I turned to Jean. "I am going the right way, right?"

"Yes, you are. We'll come with you, though. We have a free period now." I wasn't going to be one to reject friends on my first day, so I agreed and let the trio take the lead. The library was big. It had tall bookshelves lining the walls, with long mahogany tables stretching across the middle. It seemed that everything in this house was mahogany. In one corner was the printer. I took my papers off the top. One was my schedule. The other was my dorm number and roommate's names, Peter Maximoff. There was a note on the bottom that said, _I'm sorry I had to put you with him. Peter can be hard to get along with._ I decided that maybe I should take the book back to my room, and meet my roommate first. With a poof, Kurt appeared next to me. "You have Peter? Lucky, I'm with Warren" I didn't know who Warren was, but I was sure I would meet him soon enough. I was also sure that Kurt's could teleport, which seemed super handy. I collected a pile of books, waved bye to Jean and Jubilee, and headed to my dorm. It was on the top floor, on the very end of the hall. I walked in and studied the room. There was a visible line separating the two sides. One the used side, the walls were painted grey, but you could barely see the paint because the wall was covered in so many posters. There were bands, comic book characters, and a couple that were pure aesthetic: space, music, lightning. The other side of the room had plain white walls. There was a bed with a plain pillow and blanket, and next to that was a little table and a lamp. There was a sudden gust of air behind me, and a voice said, "Who are you?" I turned to find a boy dressed in black and leather, with goggles on his head and long silver hair. He looked like he was around twenty years old. It seemed that everybody here was older than me. "What are you doing in my room, kid?" He asked. There was another gust of wind and suddenly all my books were on the floor, and the boy was in behind me holding my papers. I just stood there, shocked. "Math? Chemistry? Boooring!" I tried to snatch my papers back, but suddenly he was _standing on my bed eating a Twinkie._ He threw the schedule onto the table, and remarked, "Rude! I am not hard to get along with!" I could feel my hands start to spark, and stuffed them in my pockets. "I beg to differ! Get down, give me my paper, and get back to your side of the room!" I yelled at him. He looked shocked, then grinned. "Why don't you come up here and make me?" He retorted. I glared, briefly wondering what would happen if i hit an actual person with lightning. Then I jumped-slash-flew up onto the bed. I jumped for the paper, but when Peter pulled it away at the last second I went sailing off of the bed. When I hit the floor the pain in my side reawakened, and I let out a little yelp. I put my arm around my side to protect it, and stood up. I then proceeded to electrocute Peter. As soon as I released the lightning I knew it was a mistake. Peter was thrown off the bed and against the wall. I ran over to find him laying on the floor, laughing. His hair was sticking up and his face was black. I couldn't believe I was worried. "Peter, are you alright?" I asked, rather angrily. "That was awesome! Help me up" Peter responded enthusiastically. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. He was still leaning on me heavily. I dragged Peter to his bed, and dumped him on it. He was still laughing. "That was crazy. Don't worry about it, kid, I heal fast. What was your name anyway?" I couldn't help but smile. "Kyra. So what can you do?" I collapsed onto my own bed, mentally making a note to pick up my books later. My body felt like sack of lead. "I never realized how tired I am." The lights flickered, the energy probably the only reason I was still conscious. "I'm fast. Faster than light, actually."

"Cool,"

"Y'know, you sort of remind me of my little sister." his comment caught me off guard. He didn't remind me of Sam at all, except for the fact that they both liked to antagonize me. But I had to say _something_. "What's her name?"

"Wanda. She's about your age."

"Is she a mutant?"

"Not yet, but me and my mom are pretty sure she is. Do you have any siblings?"

I was saved from answering his question by a woman who appeared in the door. "Are you the new girl?" She asked. I stared. It was Mystique. I sat up and swung my legs off of the bed. "That's me."

"Come on, I'll be testing your powers. My name is Raven." I followed her in silence to the elevator I had first come up in. In the enclosed space, I noticed something. "You have scales? That's so cool!" I gushed. Raven gave a mischievous smile. "You think? Watch this." her scales suddenly flipped over, revealing normal, white skin. It flipped back, and now the patch of skin was dark brown. One more time and it looked like it did before, blue and scaley. "So you're mutation is changing how you look?" I asked. Raven nodded as the elevator doors opened, revealing metal hallways. She led me to a door at the end of the hallway, it was round and decorated with a big X. It opened automatically. "This is the danger room. Basically, I will test your powers and see what you can do." Raven said. She had me demonstrate flying, moving metal, and exploding things other than rocks. I actually started to glow at times and I'm pretty sure the power almost went out a few others. Eventually I was allowed to go back to my room. I collapsed on my bed, hands sparking out of control. I held them up, watching the mini lightning shoot off my fingers. "How did it go?" Peter asked. He was laying on his bed, reading a comic book. I sighed, and nodding to my hands said, "They won't stop."

"Why would you want them to?" I didn't answer, and went to pull the map that Xavier had given me out of my pocket. It burst into flames. I blew it out frantically and dropped it on the bed where I wouldn't have to touch it to see it. It was scorched, but still readable. "So dinner is next? And the dining hall is upstairs, next to the… uh… ballroom? Why does a school have ballroom?"

"For the dances and parties. " Peter said matter of factly, "Anyway, you can go with me and my friends, since you burned your map." As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Peter called, and the door opened to reveal a long blonde haired boy. He looked like a punk, to put it simply. "Who's sparky over here?" The lights flickered in response. Peter put his comic down and stood up. "Warren meet Kyra, kid meet Warren." I pulled myself out of bed. "You're Kurt's roommate, right?" Warren nodded, the beckoned to Peter. "So, you coming to dinner?"

"Ya, but she's coming to." Warren scowled in response. "I'll just go by myself, maybe I'll find Kurt." I looked pointedly at Warren. But then, as I reached for the map, I realized that my hands were still sparking. I'll just have to memorize the way. As I walked my hands stopped sparking, and it was safer to touch things. It turns out finding the dining room was pretty easy when every other student was going the same way. "Hey, Kyra, wait!" a voice behind me called. I turned to see Jubilee pushing through the crowd towards me. "So, you like the school?" she asked. I nodded, "it's great, I can't believe everybody here is a mutant." Jubilee grinned. "There's this dude, Scott Summers, who has a car. We like to take it out every once in awhile and go see a movie, go to the mall. You want to come after dinner?" I frowned. "It's sounds fun, but isn't that against the rules?" We entered the dining room and Jubilee pulled me into a seat between her and Jean. "The professor knows, he's fine as long as we're careful." Across the table sat Kurt and a boy who I hadn't seen before. He was wearing odd red sunglasses. "This is Scott. Scott, this is the new girl, Kyra." Jean introduced. Scott shook my hand, but in a moment the dining hall fell quiet. Xavier was coming in, and he took his place at the head of the long table. That, I assume, marked the start of dinner because people started eating. I hadn't eaten in a couple weeks, so while I didn't usually like fish tonight it was delicious. After dinner, I followed the foursome down to a garage, to a cool red car. Kurt teleported into the back, and patted the seat next to him. "Come on, Kyra." I was the last person to get in and when I was buckled Scott drove off. The gate opened automatically, and after we exited the long driveway we entered New York city. "Whoa!" I breathed. "I take it you've never been here?" Kurt asked. "New York? I've never even been close! It's so big!" The other three overheard us. "You've never been to the big apple?" Jubilee shrieked, "We have to show her _everything."_ She told Jean and Scott up in the front. That started a heated discussion about where they needed to take me. Kurt suggested several cathedrals, while Jubilee wanted to go to an amusement park. Eventually they actually asked me, and by then I had already made up my mind. "the Statue of Liberty," I answered. The entire car moaned, and Scott finally spoke up. "That's so basic! only tourists go to the Statue of Liberty! I'm deciding where we're going, and that's final." After some swerving and going over the speed limit, we stopped at a… library. "I'm bored already!" Jubilee whined. Jean joined in, saying, "I hate to agree Scott, but there's a library at the mansion - what's so special about this one?" Scott led the way inside. "First of all, the library at the mansion only has law and science books. This library is different. _Ciao,_ Henry!" The librarian waved back. "You want the usual, Mr . Summers?" He had a thick Italian accent. "Yes, please." Scott answered. I watched, stunned, as the librarian turned to the bookcase behind him and pulled on one of the books. There was a click, and the bookshelf next to it slid open to reveal a staircase. I could smell pizza and marinara sauce floating up from the room below. Henry led the way down the stairs and we emerged into a brightly lit italian restaurant. "Take a seat," Henry said, gesturing to a table, before he left.

"Why didn't you tell us you knew where a secret restaurant is?" Jubilee cried. Scott shrugged. "Maybe because you never asked. anyway, me and Alex used to come here all the time, so I figured it was the perfect place to bring the new girl."

I ended up going back to the mansion that night with after the best Italian food I've ever had, and a few new clothes, courtesy of Jean. Peter was asleep when I got there, looking slightly like a burrito. I crawled into bed, falling asleep before I hit the pillow.


End file.
